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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580745">Wait For me in the old empty house</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowan_theEnby_king/pseuds/Rowan_theEnby_king'>Rowan_theEnby_king</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Mentions of Cancer, Other, Polyamory, Terminal Illnesses, actually the fluff the agnst ratio is 7:5, back in time, it's cuter than it is angsty, no beta we die like men, soulmate-ish, the major character death is because they're ghosts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:03:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,313</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580745</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowan_theEnby_king/pseuds/Rowan_theEnby_king</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo remembers dying in a weirdly, hazy poetic way</p><p>if prompted he'll tell you the story like the old soul he is</p><p>He was born in 1895 so you gotta give him that.</p><p>Despite being dead for so long, he remembers living</p><p>It takes a bit more prompting to get him to talk about that</p><p>He'll keep a sad, fond look in his eyes </p><p>His stories will make you ache for something you just can't place</p><p> </p><p>just because they where born years apart, doesn't mean they won't find each other in death</p><p>"till death do us part, baby"</p><p> </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Wait For me in the old empty house</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>tw:mention of suicide, child abuse, terminal illness </p><p>this got wayyyyyy darker than originally planed<br/>sorry I can only write angst<br/>im also procrastinating another fic</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>~~~~~Kuroo~~~~~</p><p>Kuroo remembers dying in a weirdly, hazy poetic way</p><p>if prompted he'll tell you the story like the old soul he is</p><p>He was born in 1895 so you gotta give him that.</p><p>Despite being dead for so long, he remembers living</p><p>It takes a bit more prompting to get him to talk about that</p><p>He'll keep a sad, fond look in his eyes </p><p>His stories will make you ache for something you just can't place</p><p> </p><p>He remembers his dad going off to war</p><p>He remembers his mother crying at the kitchen table when she heard that her husband had been killed in action </p><p>He remembers playing at school</p><p>Learning at school</p><p>Chemistry was (is) his favorite</p><p>We will talk about his friends</p><p>(this is where he gets a little teary)</p><p>Shy Kenma, angry Yaku, and the energetic Lev</p><p>He'll tell you little things like the way Lev and Kema bikered and how Yaku kept them all together. The games they'd play and the places they went.</p><p>How, with them, he could forget about the war that all of them had lost something to. </p><p>Kuroo and Yaku's fathers, Lev's Sister.</p><p>Kenma's brother came back but not really.</p><p>living was just so good</p><p>The future was really his.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn't tell you when he actually got sick though.</p><p>It all happened so fast</p><p>Before anyone was even talking about the spanish flu</p><p>The fever made it hard to remember anything of note</p><p>He thinks Kenma might've visited him</p><p>He thinks his mother cried</p><p>He thinks the doctor came </p><p>And then he died</p><p>This kind of pissed him off</p><p>Like the "good" christian boy he was, he assumed he would go to heaven or something </p><p>But he just sort of lingered in the old house</p><p> </p><p>Be watched his mom get old (Kenma still visited)</p><p>he watched his friends grow up</p><p>he watched them die and leave. that was a hurt he didn't know how to explain </p><p>soon it was just him in the house </p><p>all alone</p><p>until he came round</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~Bokuto~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>Bokuto was a kind boy in a house that wasn't so kind</p><p>when his sisters moved out it was just him and the monster</p><p>However, almost despite his father's best efforts to twist him he grew kinder and more gentle every single day</p><p>he was light, to put it simply</p><p>It actually broke Kuroo's heart to see what that awful man did to that boy.</p><p> </p><p>for the first time in years, Kuroo found himself wanting to be seen</p><p>to reach out to the boy</p><p>Kuroo drew pictures in the frost on cold days </p><p>he left little notes in the margins of Bokuto's math books when no one was looking </p><p>little things to let him know that he wasn't alone </p><p>however, sometimes he wished Bokuto would fight back for fucks' sake</p><p> </p><p>Bokuto will swear that there was a time before his dad hit him </p><p>even if he was too young to remember it </p><p>in a stupid way, he still loved his dad</p><p>in a way only he could</p><p>he prayed that one day he would just stop drinking </p><p>if you were to ask him now, Bokuto is not mad at his sisters for leaving him</p><p>and he's not mad at his father for killing him</p><p>he will jokingly say it was his fault for sneaking into the kitchen when his dad was in his "moods"</p><p>he was never going to fight back</p><p>He is still a little sad that his body is in the backyard to this day, yet to be discovered.</p><p>that his sisters' didn't question it when the letters stopped coming </p><p>hey hey hey, it was 1929. sometimes that just happened </p><p> </p><p>meeting Kuroo was almost worth it</p><p>he had sensed that there was something there, just beyond what he could see</p><p>Kuroo being painfully handsome helped </p><p>and at least he wasn't alone </p><p>they would be okay</p><p>a part of them could tell that there was still something missing</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~Akaashi~~~~~</p><p>Akaashi is still embarrassed after all these years</p><p>there's not much to say</p><p>his life was shit</p><p>his future was non-existent</p><p>his mother reminded him day in and day out that he shouldn't have been born at all </p><p>that he was ugly</p><p>and worthless</p><p>that no one would ever love him</p><p>that shit would literally follow him beyond the grave </p><p>this fuckery </p><p>the world was going to shit</p><p>he watched his class get smaller and smaller as the war effort became more and more frantic </p><p>more and more empty chairs at dinner tables</p><p>it was no mystery why no one came back </p><p>frankly, it made Akaashi sick to his stomach </p><p>he was fairly sickly anyway so no one was yelling at him to enlist </p><p>he was such a coward </p><p>he liked staying in his room in the house, away from his mother's "friends" and drawing</p><p>pictures boys with cat eyes and boys with owl wings and the moon, he loved drawing the moon</p><p> </p><p>while it wasn't a new line of thought every doubt vanished the day he got his draft papers </p><p>he was not going out there to die</p><p>damn it if it made him a coward </p><p>if he wasn't going to die he would do so with every ounce or grace he could muster</p><p> </p><p>remembers "waking up" and seeing his body in the bathtub, fully clothed, water pink, the fabric around his wrists dark red</p><p>his mother didn't even cry</p><p>She walked over to his last finished drawing, a study of the moon, dated 1942. </p><p>maybe he lost his life but he found something else, his boys. </p><p>they welcomed him with open arms</p><p>Bo even cried when he first saw them </p><p>Why were they still here in this old house? </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>the house lay empty for a while after that. </p><p>the 3 of them lounged in the dusty attic and wandered aimlessly through the halls </p><p>so when they next people began to move in it was a bit of a shock</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~~~tsukishima~~~~</p><p> </p><p>if you asked him how he felt about moving into the creepy old house he would spare you no detail about how much he despised it.</p><p>he moved into the uppermost bedroom and hated it with a passion </p><p>moving far away from everything he had ever known all under the guise of his health </p><p>his mother and brother insisted that a change of sensory would help</p><p>but a new neighbourhood has never cured cancer. </p><p>all of his equipment looked out of place in the old house </p><p>the constant buzz of the machines that made sure he didn't die always put him on edge</p><p> </p><p>despite his disdain for the house </p><p>he took it upon himself to explore </p><p>he was always at the house or the hospital anyway</p><p>he found the oldest chemistry textbook he had ever seen. The card on the inside cover said it belonged to a Kuroo Tetsurou who checked it out in 1910 and never returned it.</p><p>letters addressed to a Bokuto Koutarou from what looked to be his sisters talking about their travels</p><p>a box full of peculiar drawings that Kei stuck to his wall as decoration by a certain akaashi Keiji</p><p>he built lives for these boys they became closer to him than anything or anyone and they brought him comfort unlike no other</p><p> </p><p>when he got home from the hospital that one time, his mother was still crying and his brother pulled him into a tight hug when he walked in the door</p><p>kei was just tired (he was always tired these days) he wanted to go upstairs and sleep</p><p> </p><p>when he woke up, it was dark outside and Tsukishima was cold to his bones </p><p>he was always cold </p><p>he sat up and pulled the quilt at the foot of his bed up and wrapped it around his bony shoulders </p><p>he stared out his window </p><p>the glow of the moon was surprisingly bright and illuminated most of the room</p><p>he ran his hand through his hair and when he pulled back, he came away with a chunk of his blond hair </p><p> </p><p>it was then that he let himself cry </p><p>sobbs ripped through his skinny body </p><p>Tsukishima Kei was Dying </p><p>the cancer had spread through practically his entire body and chemo was doing nothing </p><p>nobody could do anything except "make him comfortable" </p><p>the doctors said he had 2 weeks to 2 months to live but I could be sooner or I could be later</p><p>real fucking helpful</p><p>and he was so so so sad  </p><p>everything hurt all the damn time </p><p>a part of him just wanted to give up</p><p>Why was he fighting again?</p><p>anyhow it wouldn't even matter because he would be dead soon</p><p>and that scared the shit out of him</p><p>it really was pathetic</p><p> </p><p>he put his head in his hands and cried.</p><p>tsukishima kei was mourning himself </p><p> </p><p>"Bokuto-san please don't cry, you know better than anyone that being dead isn't that bad,"</p><p> </p><p>tsukishima stopped for a moment to listen</p><p> </p><p>"yeah, Bo, you know he's in a lot of pain."</p><p> </p><p>"I just don't want him to be alone. He looks so sad. i want to give him a hug and tell him not to be afraid."</p><p> </p><p>"hello?" tsukishima called out, "who's there?"</p><p> </p><p>he took his glasses off the night table and squinted into the shadow the voices came from until he saw 3 figures in the corner of the room staring at him intently </p><p>he wrapped the quilt more securely around his shoulders, swung his long legs off the bed and tentatively tiptoed to the figures </p><p> </p><p>they where 3 boys,</p><p>a cat eyed boy with the wildest bedhead Kei had ever seen, an amber eyed boy with spiky gray and black hair in a state of shock and a sly looking one with the deepest saddest eyes.</p><p>they all looked slightly out of place.</p><p>their clothes didn't look from this century </p><p>they looked barely there like,</p><p>ghosts.</p><p> </p><p>"are you ghosts?" </p><p> </p><p>a moment of silence kei couldn't find it in himself to be scared. They looked and felt so familiar....</p><p> </p><p>"You can see us," akaashi said. park question, part statement. </p><p> </p><p>Kei studied them</p><p>he out stretched his hand and pointed at them, </p><p> </p><p>"Bokuto, Kuroo and Akaashi, right? you look just as i imagined. I must be dreaming" Tsukishima said sharply, "these meds give me the weirdest dreams"</p><p> </p><p>"you're not dreaming" kuroo said</p><p> </p><p>the cat reached out and ran his hand right through Kei's </p><p> </p><p>and it hit Tsukishima. it wasn't a dream</p><p> </p><p>"does that mean... that I'm going to die soon, or that I'm already dead?" he swallowed thickly </p><p> </p><p>"I don't Know" whispered Bokuto, "but being dead isn't so bad! all the coolest people are dead!" </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima snorted out a laugh which made him dizzy and his headache. He tasted blood. </p><p> </p><p>the others must've noticed his pain and Kuroo motioned for him to sit on the bed</p><p> </p><p>"Sit. we're not going anywhere" Kuroo smirked at the irony, "tii death do us part baby, and not even then" </p><p> </p><p>"that was in poor taste" sniffled Bokuto</p><p> </p><p>"Is it bad that I'm scared?" Kei whispered more to himself than to anyone else </p><p> </p><p>Akaashi stepped into the moonlight, making him even more translucent. Kei noticed the dark stain on the wrists of his dress shirt. Akaashi sat down on the bed next to kei. kei noticed that the bed didn't dip with any weight</p><p> </p><p>"it's scary, isn't it?" he said, tracing cool circles on Tsukishima's bony hands that the blond could not feel.</p><p> </p><p>Bokuto bounded into the light followed by kuroo</p><p> </p><p>Bokuto's arm jutted out at an odd angle and kuroo just looked tired yet unbelievably alert</p><p> </p><p>"we'll answer any questions that you have!" boomed the owl boy</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~~</p><p> </p><p>they spent the rest of the night taking laughing and learning </p><p> </p><p>just before the sun came up, Tsukki let out a big yawn</p><p> </p><p>"go to bed Kei" Akaashi cooed</p><p> </p><p>Kei crawled under the covers and fell into a dreamless sleep </p><p>on some level of his consciousness he felt a shift, something different. Maybe a new beginning.</p><p>when he "awoke" he noted that he felt better than ever. almost like before he was sick.</p><p>he got up, stretched and looked across the room at the 3 figures.</p><p>they had the oddest looks on their pale faces </p><p> </p><p>"....Kei?" kuroo warned, "Don't freak out but you may want to look behind you"</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima wiped his head around (and noted how that didn't hurt) and gasped</p><p>there was his body, paler than ever, looking peaceful and calm in a way he didn't think he could look.</p><p>he was dead </p><p>Tsukishima kei was dead. </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima stood there for a long time just watching himself lie there, lifeless. </p><p> </p><p>he flinched at the way his brother cried when they found his body</p><p>All he wanted was to assure Akiteru that he was alright but all he did was watch. </p><p>when he finally looked away, Bokuto, Akaashi and Kuroo where there to hold him, really hold him </p><p> </p><p>"what now?" Tsukishima pondered</p><p> </p><p>"i don't know" said kuroo, "but for the first time in a long time i feel...complete." </p><p> </p><p>tsukishima looked up at the 3 boys. they look more solid than ever, healthy even. his eyes got caught in Akaashi's grey ones. almost involuntarily he leaned forward and kissed Akaashi softly. the crazy things was, that Akaashi kissed him back!</p><p>the ever-impatient owl nosed his way into kissing Tsukishima. the blond barely had time to come up for air before Kuroo captured his lips like a prize. </p><p>they kissed and leaned into each other in a embrace that could be described as nothing other than totally complete </p><p> </p><p>From the middle of their hug, a light glowed. </p><p>it spread out and seeped into the very fiber of their beings </p><p> </p><p>"I think we get to go know now" Akaashi said simply</p><p> </p><p>"where are we going?" asked Kuroo</p><p> </p><p>"we're going to be okay together" Bokuto piped in</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"let's go" said kei </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>and they went. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!<br/>thanks for reading!</p><p>~Rowan</p></blockquote></div></div>
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